By Chris Sawin
| Revealed
Norm’s Diner. Los Angeles. 10:10 pm. A bearded man (Sam Rockwell), lined head-to-toe in a transparent pancho and tangled with tubes, wires, motherboards, and a bomb detonator, stomps into the diner. He takes bites from a number of unsuspecting folks’s entrees earlier than exclaiming, “I’m from the long run, and every part is about to go horribly, horribly mistaken!”
Claiming to have returned to this exact diner at this precise second 117 instances beforehand, this man from the long run is on the lookout for volunteers. Half of humanity perishes sooner or later, whereas the opposite half turns into hopelessly obsessive about their telephones and social media. A.I. has lastly taken over the world, and this man is aware of the key to saving it, and all of it needs to be executed on this very night time.
“Like a choose-your-own-adventure ebook the place all of the choices have been chosen.”
With greater than somewhat convincing, seven volunteers go on a mission to avoid wasting humanity’s future. Some will knowingly not make it till the top of the night time, however Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die dives into the backstory of some of those diner patrons who not have something to lose.
Mark (Michael Pena) and Janet (Zazie Beetz) are a romantic couple and each academics, on the rocks. Mark is a substitute trainer who lands a job on the similar college the place Janet teaches. The issue is that academics at this college hold disappearing whereas the scholars by no means get off their telephones. Mark questions this and unintentionally touches one of many college students’ telephones, which doesn’t finish properly for anybody.
Susan (Juno Temple) is the mom of a highschool pupil named Darren (Riccardo Drayton). Darren dies unexpectedly after falling sufferer to a mass taking pictures, and Ingrid’s life loses all which means. She’s launched to a retailer that clones mass taking pictures victims, however the clone’s flaws hold their almost flawless bodily look from feeling genuine.
Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson) has lived her complete life with an allergy to wifi and cell telephones. Medical doctors mentioned it wasn’t an actual illness, however she will get nosebleeds and might’t operate correctly every time she’s round know-how or mainly goes anyplace exterior of the home. Ingrid met a pizza supply driver named Tim (Tom Taylor), who didn’t imagine in utilizing cell telephones or having any attachment to know-how. The 2 moved in collectively and lived a frugal but content material life till in the future, when a VR headset was left on their doorstep for Tim. Tim turns into so obsessive about digital actuality that he prefers it to this one, though the so-called love of his life isn’t in it.
“A.I. is inescapable, and humanity’s solely alternative is to attempt to cater to its good facet.”
Gore Verbinski has by no means shied away from going tremendous bizarre in his earlier movies, however Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die takes the weird cake. The movie is outlined as a sci-fi action-adventure comedy, however its humor is probably essentially the most uncommon facet. The movie’s grasp of how social media and A.I. have a demise grip on society is terrifying, given how a lot we depend on and are hooked on them as we speak. There’s a darkish, erratic tone to the movie’s comedy that’s amusing as a result of it comes off as virtually real. The most important takeaway is that A.I. is inescapable, and humanity’s solely alternative is to attempt to cater to its good facet.
Sam Rockwell has the commanding presence of a person who partially provides a shit. He intends to avoid wasting everybody he can, however the folks on this diner are expendable. If it doesn’t work out, he’s the one one who can hit the reset button and begin over. So a few of his actions could seem merciless on the floor, however he additionally is aware of everybody at this level virtually in addition to they know themselves. Rockwell is as scene-stealing as ever right here, however half of his allure is how he bounces off the remainder of the proficient and mesmerizing ensemble.
It’s additionally attention-grabbing to witness how each volunteer reacts to the upcoming apocalypse. Mark and Janet are stuffed with panic, an Uber driver named Scott (Asim Chaudhry) doubts that this “Man from the Future” and something he says is definitely true, a scoutmaster named Bob (Daniel Barnett) volunteers solely with the intention of being a hero, Ingrid has an odd sense of acceptance, and Susan is cooperative however has an ulterior motive.
Even the characters that die alongside the best way are a type of loss. Sam Rockwell’s “Man from the Future” is shoehorned into this illustration of hope. He needs to avoid wasting humanity, however he additionally needs to get to the purpose the place he doesn’t must repeat this night time once more for the 118th time and past. He watches everybody die, and every part crumbles round him. That is purgatory for him; he’s mainly Invoice Murray in Groundhog Day. He’s a logo of hope, but in addition damaged in his personal manner. Panic, doubt, heroism, acceptance, conniving, loss, and hope; it’s just like the seven phases of grief however by some means extra futile.
“Price seeing for its distinctive performances, its catawampus narrative, and its hopelessly hopeless tackle a dystopian future.”
The story takes wildly peculiar turns, even for a movie the place the long run is set, however the way it will get there’s a query mark. There’s a CGI creature buried inside the second half of the movie that has a fully gonzo design and likewise places full-frontal nudity to insane use. The film’s nonlinear storytelling is everywhere, however the place the movie takes the viewers isn’t solely sudden. Visually, Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die is a bananas smorgasbord and a shotgun blast to the face of craziness. However narratively, it feels just like the movie is deeper or extra distinctive than it truly is.
Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die is sort of a choose-your-own-adventure ebook the place all of the choices have been chosen, and all of the totally different situations are enjoying out directly in the identical timeline. The movie is price seeing for its distinctive performances, its catawampus narrative, and its hopelessly hopeless tackle a dystopian future. The dearth of precise laughs and the lack to totally fulfill what it introduces are what hinder Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die from being a pure, unhinged masterpiece.
GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE REVIEW SCORE
Good Luck, Have Enjoyable, Don’t Die is now enjoying in theaters.